


Where the Sun Rises

by bictory



Category: B.A.P
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 19:11:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2822969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bictory/pseuds/bictory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Youngjae thinks maybe it's time to grow out of anime fandom...especially when he starts his new semester abroad and his TA is unreasonably hot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where the Sun Rises

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** For the loveliest [](http://almostblue.livejournal.com/profile)[**almostblue**](http://almostblue.livejournal.com/), I don't deserve youuuuuuu ♥ I wanted to write something much more epic for you but I've been having writer's constipation and so this is what came out xD;; ty for your prompts, I wish I could've made something more of them ;u; thanks to e for the beta (how would I live without you) and the mods for being so patient ;uuu;

Youngjae rests his forehead on the edge of his laptop, careful not to type gibberish with his face. He wonders if he should just smash his face into the keys. Any new material would be better than nothing.

He looks up at the cursor that blinks tauntingly at him. There is an intimidating span of white after it that should be filling with words, but his mind is numb and his fingers are paralyzed. He stares at it for a good five minutes before shutting his laptop cover. He rolls over to move his laptop to his desk and then collapses into his pillows, drawing his covers over his head in completion of the movement.

Maybe he’s just outgrowing it. Writing anime fanfiction, that is. He’d been struggling for a while and thought that maybe a change of surroundings would be inspirational—Japan is where anime comes from, after all—but even after his first few week in Japan, he hasn’t written anything worth keeping, if anything at all.

He closes his eyes. First day of the spring term of his third year tomorrow, and he might as well sleep if it’s going to be another fruitless night for writing.

Youngjae falls asleep while running through his bus stops and classes over and over in his head.

*

Youngjae knows as soon as he takes his laptop out of his backpack that he should have taken that stupid Geass emblem sticker off the cover. He’s not in Japan to watch anime, he’s there to learn about the language and culture. It’s the wrong impression to be making on his teacher, his classmates, and especially his TA, who as it turns out, is really hot.

Kim Himchan, also taking a semester abroad, doing his graduate thesis on ukiyo-e, traditional Japanese woodblock prints. How refined, while the extent of Youngjae’s knowledge of aesthetics covers the difference between Square Enix and Shaft’s animation styles and not much more. Youngjae thinks his TA isn’t good-looking in the traditional sense, not like the actors in the dramas his mother watches, but still, Kim Himchan looks like he stepped straight out of a shoujo manga.

Kim Himchan’s nose, like his artistic sensibilities, is refined, elegant. His eyes are sharp and fox-like, curving upwards at the edges, like the end of a calligrapher’s brush stroke. His lips are perfectly balanced, unlike Youngjae’s, which are bottom heavy, and his philtrum long and deep, like God spent a little extra time chiseling it out.

Wow, is all Youngjae can think. That, and embarrassment about his own appearance. He hides behind his large-framed glasses and prays fervently that Himchan would not notice that Geass sticker. Or that if he does, he wouldn’t know what it meant. As if such an ideal person would do something as nerdy as watching anime, Youngjae berates himself.

Thankfully, Youngjae’s Japanese professor doesn’t call him out the entire period. Youngjae feels like he blends in well with the rest of his class, where he can quietly watch Himchan out of the corners of his eyes.

When the end of the class creeps up, Youngjae breathes out a sigh of relief. Maybe he can get through the rest of the semester without being noticed at all.

*

Youngjae’s pretty good about being by himself. He’s certainly not like Daehyun, who calls him every other night from Korea because he’s lonely without Youngjae to hang out with. So during lunch, he sits by himself at a cafeteria table and pulls out the light novel he had been reading for Japanese practice.

He’s just starting to get into the book when he’s interrupted.

“Yoo Youngjae.”

Youngjae startles, nearly dropping the book into his miso soup. He does end up dropping the book anyway when he looks up.

It’s Himchan.

“Hello,” Youngjae stutters, hastily picking up his book and drying off its corners.

Himchan sits down across from him and passes him a few more napkins from his own tray. “Sorry for the scare,” he says in Korean. “I’ve missed speaking in Korean so is it okay if I speak it with you?”

Youngjae nods so enthusiastically he almost gets whiplash. “Of course it’s fine,” he remembers to say, just late enough that he left an awkward pause. He wants to kick himself.

To Youngjae’s relief, Himchan doesn’t seem to notice, or he doesn’t care. Himchan digs into his food and starts up small talk with Youngjae. “How many years have you studied Japanese?” he asks around a mouthful of rice.

“It’s my first time learning it officially,” Youngjae says, still trying to process the fact that his hot TA is talking to him. He figures it would be good to continue the conversation. “You?”

“This is my fourth year now,” Himchan says after swallowing. He stirs his soup with his chopsticks thoughtfully. “How’d you get so good without learning it in school?”

Youngjae almost chokes when he thinks about how all he’s picked up is from anime. “I like watching Japanese...TV.”

Himchan laughs. “Anime, right?”

“Um,” Youngjae says. He wants to melt into the tiled cafeteria floor.

“Ah, I saw your laptop earlier,” Himchan says, probably because Youngjae looks so freaked out. “Code Geass is one of my favorites.”

Youngjae stares with his mouth hanging open. He hates when he does that, he looks so dumb. “You watch anime?” he says when he finally regains control of his senses.

“It’s great,” Himchan says. “The Japanese really have a way of telling stories. That’s why I’m studying ukiyo-e, actually, to learn the traditional roots.”

Himchan talks and Youngjae finds himself nodding along and listening eagerly. It’s kind of hard to pay attention when Youngjae’s still in a state of shock. He’s having a relatively deep conversation with Kim Himchan. It’s unreal.

“How’s that sound?”

“Huh?” Youngjae says, snapping back to reality.

“Oh, you don’t have to come over,” Himchan says hurriedly. “I just thought it’d be cool to hang out sometime and watch one of the new series coming out.”

“No, that’d be great,” Youngjae says way too quickly. Using his deduction skills which he’s surprised are still intact, he figures Himchan probably invited him over. “I don’t really have anything to do.”

Himchan grins at him for the first time and Youngjae is taken aback by his smile. It’s completely different from his resting face, relaxed and slightly bucktoothed. It’s really, really cute and Youngjae thinks he might like it more. “Great,” Himchan says. “Then wanna come over tonight?”

*

Youngjae doesn’t think about writing at all when he knocks on Himchan’s door in the evening after his classes are over. Himchan had written him instructions and they were fairly straightforward to follow. He was living in one of the graduate dorms, so it didn’t take long for Youngjae to get there.

“Hey,” Himchan says as he opens the door. He’s slightly breathless, like he ran to the door when he heard Youngjae’s knock. Or it’s just Youngjae’s fic plotting mind at it again.

“Hey,” Youngjae says. It’s lame, but he feels too giddy to be creative with his comebacks. He enters as Himchan swings the door wide open for him and kicks off his sandals at the entryway. He remembers to face the shoes outward.

“You don’t have to do that here,” Himchan says, snorting.

“Oh,” Youngjae replies, wondering if he should feel comfortable or awkward that Himchan’s not afraid to tease him.

“I made curry,” Himchan says, which diverts Youngjae’s attention.

He notices the spicy, savory aroma permeating the small apartment for the first time. “That smells amazing.”

“I’m confident in my cooking,” Himchan says, smiling nonetheless.

While Himchan scoops out rice and the curry onto two plates, Youngjae takes in the sight of the apartment. It’s simple and undecorated, the walls plain and minimal furniture making the rooms look bigger than they actually were. In the living room are a sofa and TV, and off to the side, a small round table with two chairs that functioned as a dinner table. There’s a small hallway that runs along the kitchen and opens up into a few more doors. A closet, bathroom, and single bedroom, Youngjae thinks. He likes to observe the places he goes to use as future settings in his fic.

“Does it meet your standards?” Himchan jokes, tapping him with one of the dishes in his hands.

“Ah thanks,” Youngjae says as he takes the dish. “You can’t have more than one guest, can you.” He points at the tiny dinner table.

Himchan holds up the rice scoop. “Actually, I can’t even have one. I only have one spoon.”

Youngjae realizes Himchan’s given him that lone spoon. He kind of feels bad, but Himchan looks happy with his rice scoop so he doesn’t feel as bad as he could.

“Let’s eat and watch at the same time,” Himchan says, pointing to his couch.

Youngjae agrees by sitting down. It’s a comfortable couch, he muses, feeling the soft surface with his fingers. He felt like he was drowning in the velvety plush. Himchan presses play on his laptop before sitting down next to Youngjae. He sits close, but still respecting Youngjae’s space, not touching.

They’re watching Attack on Titan because Himchan had never seen it, but Youngjae doesn’t mind rewatching. Especially since the fic he was trying to write is an Attack on Titan one. It’s relaxing, and any awkwardness Youngjae might have felt disappears. It’s comfortable, melting into the soft cushions, eating Himchan’s delicious cooking, and watching a series he knows he likes.

Maybe a little too comfortable.

Before he even notices, he’s rolled into Himchan and every time something exciting happens, he hits Himchan on the arm, the leg, anywhere his flailing arms reach. It’s something he used to do with Jongup back at home in Korea when they watched anime together, but this is Himchan, his hot TA, not sweet, tolerant Jongup who doesn’t mind anything Youngjae does.

When Himchan points it out, Youngjae feels terribly guilty and withdraws, but Himchan just grins and says he doesn’t mind, and soon Youngjae is leaning comfortably against Himchan.

When they marathon half the season, Youngjae falls asleep and he wakes up to Himchan shaking his shoulder.

“We can finish the season some other day since it’s late,” Himchan says.

Youngjae nods and stands up, suddenly over-aware of the fact that he had been sleeping on Himchan. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s do that.”

“We’ll finish it next time, I promise!” Himchan says and Youngjae realizes that Himchan wanted to hang out with him a next time. It is kind of amazing.

“Of course,” Youngjae says in a daze. “Next time.”

*

Himchan’s busy the next day, and the days after that, so they don’t hang out as soon as Youngjae had hoped, but they still talk in the passing, and even though Youngjae’s made friends, Himchan grabs meals with him from time to time.

Every time Youngjae talks to Himchan, he likes Himchan a little bit more. He avoids wondering about how Himchan feels about him. He’s just grateful he gets to share those little tidbits of conversation, and that he’s been allowed to be a part of Himchan’s life, no matter how insignificant.

It’s a while before Himchan finally invites him over again. Well, it’s almost a week later, but to Youngjae it feels like way too long. Himchan’s door is unlocked when Youngjae arrives, so he lets himself in. “Hyung?” he calls out down the hallway.

“I’ll be out in a second,” comes Himchan’s reply from the bathroom.

Youngjae sits down in Himchan’s seat at the round table and looks around the living room. Himchan kept it fairly neat. There wasn’t much stuff to keep in order, but the things that were there were arranged neatly, like the blanket folded on top of the couch arm.

While Youngjae is contemplating the blankness of Himchan’s living room walls, Himchan appears, an odd look on his face. He reaches past Youngjae and shuts his open laptop in one swift movement. “Did you see?”

“What were you looking at?” Youngjae frowns slightly. Himchan doesn’t seem like the type to hide anything.

Himchan is slowly getting redder and redder behind the ears. It’s quite cute, actually. “Nothing important.”

Youngjae grins. “You know, over two-thirds of the male population watches porn, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“It’s—” Himchan hesitates, not meeting Youngjae’s eyes. “Not.”

Youngjae isn’t sure what to say, so he just stares at Himchan, who looks like he’s thinking really hard about something.

With a resolute sigh, Himchan opens the laptop cover and turns it towards Youngjae. He takes the unoccupied seat across Youngjae and slumps against the tabletop, hiding his face in his arms.

Youngjae takes a glance at the screen when it wakes up. In a matter of seconds a tension he didn’t realize he had in his chest uncurls and relaxes. “This is fanfiction,” he says, suddenly feeling light.

Himchan nods, head still buried in his arms.

“Believe it or not,” Youngjae says, grinning, and Himchan looks up at him, chin rested on his forearm. “I wrote that.”

Himchan blinks at him, his face fully out of his arms now. “You what?”

“I wrote that.” Youngjae scratches at his ear. Maybe it was a bad idea to say that, since Himchan was so embarrassed about it.

Or it was a good idea. Himchan’s face slowly cracks into a giant smile, his eyes turning into perfect crescents and a little dimple appearing under his left eye. “You’re a really freaking amazing writer.”

Now it’s Youngjae’s turn to turn red. He bites his lip in attempt to not smile stupidly but it doesn’t work and he ducks his head to hide it instead. “I have a long way to go, but I’m glad you like it.” More than just glad. Ecstatic. That Himchan would not only accept, but embrace, something he would normally never let anybody know he did.

“I’m serious,” Himchan says. He points to his own eyes. “Do you see these eye bags? I spent all night reading Evanjaelion’s stuff.”

Youngjae blushes even harder at his pen name. “Ignore that pen name, it’s from middle school,” he mumbles.

Himchan laughs. “Is Evangelion your favorite then?”

“It’s a classic,” Youngjae replies, grateful for how Himchan put him at ease so quickly. “I kept the name for old time’s sake.”

“Let’s watch that next time,” Himchan says, and those words, ‘next time,’ still have the same effect on Youngjae as the first time he heard them.

“Definitely.”

*

The hang outs become a regular thing and sometimes they spend so much time cooking and talking and joking around that they sometimes even forget to watch the series they were supposed to be watching through. They become so regular Youngjae realizes he has to tell Himchan he can’t go when he gets sick one week.

It’s Himchan’s pick this week and he looks so excited when he stops Youngjae at the end of class to greet Youngjae before he goes home.

“Sorry hyung, I don’t think I can come today,” Youngjae says as clearly as he can through his scratchy throat and congested nose.

“Why?” Himchan furrows his eyebrows, instantly picking up on the fact that something’s wrong. “Are you okay?”

“Just sick,” Youngjae says, his nose conveniently choosing that time to itch. He sneezes all over his hands.

“Bless you,” Himchan says, digging around in his backpack. He comes up with a handkerchief that he hands to Youngjae.“That’s even more reason for you to come.” Himchan grins. “I make a mean chicken soup.”

“But I’m contagious,” Youngjae mumbles miserably.

Himchan shrugs. “I’m immune.”

Youngjae knows he’d be doing something selfish by agreeing. The promise of Himchan and soup pulls more than the potential of getting Himchan sick. “Okay,” he says.

He’ll just be careful later, he thinks as Himchan waves goodbye, leaving with a spring in his step. Seeing Himchan happy like that, there’s no way he can regret being a little rash now.

*

Himchan is true to his word and has a pot of chicken soup simmering on the stove and a pile of blankets waiting on the couch when Youngjae arrives.

As soon as he greets Himchan, Youngjae collapses face first into the cushions.

“You can start it,” Himchan says from the kitchen, ladling the soup into a bowl. “I’ve watched before.”

Youngjae rolls over and hits the play from Himchan’s laptop, conveniently on the floor by the couch.

“Long day today?” Himchan asks when he walks over, bearing the bowl of the steaming soup. “Here.” He sets the soup on his small dining table, which he had pulled closer toward the sofa.

Youngjae grunts and reaches for the soup. His arms don’t quite reach.

“Let me,” Himchan says, pulling a chair up next to the sofa. He takes the soup and holds out a spoonful, blowing it cool before he holds it to Youngjae’s mouth.

“It’s not like I can’t hold my own spoon,” Youngjae mumbles, embarrassed.

Himchan blinks once at him and puts the soup back down. He stands up and straightens the comforters around Youngjae and tucks them underneath his body, pinning Youngjae’s arms to his side. Then Himchan sits back down and resolutely holds another spoonful of the soup to Youngjae’s mouth.

It’s really weird, but the look of concern on Himchan’s face makes Youngjae take the spoonful of soup. Himchan hadn’t been boasting, it’s really good.

Youngjae stops being embarrassed about it very quickly, and he lets himself be spoon-fed while he watches the anime Himchan had chosen. At least, he tries to watch, but finds himself trying to measure out how many millimeters in length Himchan’s eyelashes are, or just in general distracted by Himchan’s perfectly sculpted face.

By the time Himchan feeds Youngjae the entire bowl of soup, Youngjae is so warm and comfortable under the pile of blankets that he nearly falls asleep.

After Himchan takes the bowl away, he pulls the nest of comforters straight up to Youngjae’s chin and tucks him in.

“Thanks, mom,” Youngjae says sleepily into the blankets.

“I should be better than your mom,” Himchan says, bending over to tuck the blankets underneath the rest of Youngjae’s body. He flashes a pouting face at Youngjae.

“Nope, my mom’s still the best,” Youngjae says after Himchan stands back up. He digs deeper into the blankets and looks up at Himchan. He feels kind of out of it and Himchan looks kind of like an angel. He can only blame his fever-addled brain for what he says next. “She gives me a kiss that makes me get better.”

Himchan raises his eyebrows and his goofy grin turns into a smirk. “Aw, does widdle Jaejae need a kiss for his booboos?”

“What—” Youngjae starts but Himchan interrupts him as he plants a heavy kiss on Youngjae’s mouth.

“Now you’ll get better,” Himchan says, grinning again and reaching down to move Youngjae’s bangs out of his eyes. His fingers are rough but his touch gentle against Youngjae’s sweaty hairline. “My kiss has magical healing powers.”

Youngjae blinks, body frozen. His heartbeat multiplies in speed and his hazy mind clears out. “Wait,” Youngjae says. He wrests his arm free of the tightly wrapped covers and grabs Himchan’s wrist before Himchan’s hand leaves his forehead.

Himchan returns Youngjae’s gaze, uncertainty flashing through his eyes for the first time that night.

“I dunno, my cold is worse than you think,” Youngjae says. He frees his other arm to wrap around Himchan’s neck and wonders if he can break his fever with how high his body temperature feels now. “Are you sure one was enough?”

Youngjae watches the progression of Himchan’s face from doubt to wonder and thinks Himchan is beautiful. Even more beautiful than he usually is. “Of course it was,” Himchan says, closing the gap between them so that Youngjae can feel Himchan’s breath ghost across his cheeks. “But if it makes you feel better…”

Youngjae pulls himself closer, tightens his arms around Himchan’s neck and fits their lips together. Sweetly, perfectly matching.

The fleeting thought that he shouldn’t be spreading his germs goes through Youngjae’s head, but that disappears when Himchan pulls himself onto the couch on top of Youngjae and parts his lips invitingly. Later, Youngjae will be ashamed to admit that he lost his mind completely as he responds with twice the enthusiasm.

*

Youngjae wakes up to a call from Himchan the following weekend. Somehow he knows what it’s going to be before Himchan even starts.

“Youngjae-ahhh,” Himchan sighs into the phone, clearly congested.

“Oh no you didn’t,” Youngjae groans, slapping a palm to his forehead.

“Yes I did.” Himchan sniffles. “Cob take care ob me.”

Youngjae closes his eyes and keeps a hand on his forehead as he takes a deep breath. “Fine, but only if you promise me you’ll be responsible, okay?”

“I probise.”

“That means no kissing until you’re better, understand?” Youngjae says. It’s really unfair, since it was Youngjae who was irresponsible in the first place.

Youngjae imagines Himchan pouting into his speaker. “Maybe.”

“Himchan.”

“Fide just cob over,” Himchan whines.

“Okay,” Youngjae says and hangs up. His phone rests comfortably in his hand and he can’t help but smile. Ever since he had gotten back from Himchan’s, he had the urge to write and he was really looking forward to it, but somehow he knows that the feeling will still be there when he gets back.


End file.
